For the contemporary party headed by Ovadia Fatkhov, see Lev LaOlim

Lev was a short-lived political faction in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, existing for only several minutes during the 15th Knesset on 6 November 2002.

Background

After Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....

 formed a coalition government with the Centre Party

Centre Party (Israel)

The Centre Party , originally known as Israel in the Centre, was a short-lived political party in Israel. Formed in 1999 by former Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai, the aim was to create a group of moderates to challenge both Binyamin Netanyahu on the right and opposition leader Ehud Barak's...

 in 2001 following his victory in the special election for Prime Minister, speculation started that Centre Party MK Roni Milo

Roni Milo

Roni Milo is an Israeli politician, lawyer and journalist, and a former Knesset member who held several ministerial positions. He was also mayor of Tel Aviv from 1993 to 1998.-Political career:...

 intended to return to Likud

Likud

Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...

. On 22 May 2002 Milo told fellow Centre Party MKs that he wanted to return to Likud and that he wanted them to come with him.

Eventually, on 6 November 2002, just Milo and Yehiel Lasri

Yehiel Lasri

Dr Yehiel Lasri is an Israeli physician and politician who currently serves as mayor of Ashdod. He previously served as a member of the Knesset for the Centre Party, Lev and Likud.-Biography:...

 broke away from Centre Party

Centre Party (Israel)

The Centre Party , originally known as Israel in the Centre, was a short-lived political party in Israel. Formed in 1999 by former Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai, the aim was to create a group of moderates to challenge both Binyamin Netanyahu on the right and opposition leader Ehud Barak's...

, briefly forming the Lev faction which merged into Likud

Likud

Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...

 after only a few minutes in existence. Three other Centre Party MKs left and formed New Way

New Way (Israel)

-Background:The faction was formed on 6 March 2001 when three MKs, Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, Dalia Rabin-Pelossof and Uri Savir, broke away from the Centre Party....

, which later merged into Labour.

External links

• Lev Knesset website